Andy Slaughter MP, told the BBC: "There is a close relationship between the race and repression by a regime that is using F1 to try and establish normalcy." Since pro-democracy uprisings began in 2011, 72 protestors have been killed by government forces whilst over a hundred people have been arrested this month alone. Last November three men were jailed for "insulting" King Hamad on Twitter, while last month six more people were arrested over their tweets about the king.

But this sport versus politics debate obscures a far more important, and altogether more difficult issue: why is the Bahraini dictatorship so close to our own government? and what are we to do about it? Just last Thursday, the British Embassy in Manama, Bahrain's capital, held a dinner to celebrate the Queen's birthday, where Ambassador Iain Lindsay spoke, 'In the last year we have seen strong progress in the bilateral relationship with Bahrain which saw visits to the UK by His Majesty The King and His Royal Highness the Crown Prince.' Unfortunately he is all too correct. Although Bahrain's King (or dictator, as unelected rulers are usually referred) chose not to attend the Royal Wedding last year, Nabeel Rajab, president of the Bahrain Centre for Human Rights, told Al Jazeera that protesters were expecting the British to take a "tough stance," rather than invite those accused of grievous human rights abuses to the high-profile celebrations. Our knowledge of the familiar relations between the ruling Bahraini royals and our own aristo-military establishment were further enhanced when it was revealed that Sandhurst military academy had accepted a £3m donation from Bahrain's King, a decision Jeremy Corbyn MP labelled as 'disgraceful'.

In Britain we have allowed our bizarre love of the monarchy and lazy assumption our politicians 'wouldn't stoop that low' to preclude us from seeing that the Royal family have made a serious, if not uncharacteristic mistake of jumping into bed with a repressive regime, whilst our politicians holiday and receive gifts at the Bahrainis' expense. It is not enough to scapegoat Ecclestone and his F1 mob for doing what the British establishment have been doing for far too long: Gleefully profiting from and benefitting from a dubious foreign friendship, wagging the finger at repression with one hand and then swapping oil and guns with the other.